Karen had better run from the viking kittens
Posted on 09/14/2024 2:48:00 PM PDT by algore
Controversy over a 15-foot tall Viking statue in Canada has heated up in the town of Gimli - specifically over the horns on its helmet, which some say aren't realistic.
With a battle axe in one hand, a horn in the other and a cape hanging down its back, the Viking statue is almost entirely realistic aside from one recognizable detail - the horns that poke out on the side of the battle warrior's helmet.
'There's never been a Viking helmet found with horns,'
The historical accuracy of the horns was put into question and prompted a debate on social media
'It's kind of embarassing,' the resident wrote, according to CTV News.
Another native agreed, writing that they were hoping they were removed when the statue underwent a two-week refurbishing process that cost a grand total of $60,000 in 2015.
But others seemed to find the debate silly, noting that the statue 'would feel naked' without them, and whether it had horns or not didn't take away from how impressive it is.
The 57-year-old statue was conceptualized by Gissur Eliasson, a respected Canadian painting instructor, whose original sketch left out the horns.
But the Gimli Chamber of Commerce intervened - they had already ordered a substantial amount of plastic helmets with horns, and urged the artist to use them, according to Public Delivery.
'Without a doubt, the ones with the horns sell way faster than the ones without the horns,' Roberts added.
Similar to the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Viking statue that towers along the shores of Lake Winnipeg is a staple for those visiting what is known as the 'Heart of New Iceland'.
'It's great! It brings a lot of people and it's been here forever!' added another resident, Mark Quberko.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Karen had better run from the viking kittens
‘There’s never been a Viking helmet found with horns,’
No horns? I’m pretty sure there’s never been a 15 foot Viking either.
The helmet makes it instantly recognizable as a Viking, without them people would be puzzled about what the statue was supposed to be, for better or worse, the horns are iconic and not that major of an historical point, it seems pretty trivial for something that is already a fixture.
I’d think the town of Gimli would put up a statue of a dwarf.
this suggests that there were horned helmets in the area at one time, but just because we have not found a recent one really does not prove anything.
I would suspect that such helmets were reserved for the highest rank as depicted here
I suspect the problem is that she hasn’t had the horn in a long long time.
oops, missed other link
And in Price Valiant comic strips! Even Winged Helmets!
Where would Wagnerian opera (up to the 1950s anyway) be without horns and wings on the helmets?
I had a 1966 saab 96 that had custom viking wings :)
...Depictions of an Iron Age date exist featuring people with horned helmets/heads, such as upon the Golden Horns. Similar images are also known from the Viking period itself.
In the Oseberg burial from Norway, which dates to the early Viking period, a tapestry was found on which horned helmets are also depicted. Does this prove that all Vikings wore the famous helmets with horns? The answer is probably not...
They ought consider replacing this statue with one of their Scandinavian descendants of today. You know, one without any round or roundish body or mass.
The complainers probably consider the horns too macho or too Jan.6th-y or something.
The thing is, the statue is old enough that the horns are now part of the history of the statue itself. To correct them would be like correcting the lean in the tower of Pisa.
File under “First World Problems.”
LOL — those animators were so good. Elmer Fudd with that massive helmet and his scrawny neck
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